Back Home
Episode 5, Season 7 of War. Agh I'm so rusty at this typing thing. Anyways, I'm sorry this took so long and if anyone out there is still reading these...you're the real MVP(s?). <3 Enjoy! Back Home It was funny, Shadowsong thought, how you could have a home, but then there were parts of your home that were more comfortable than others. She could pinpoint the exact moment when the pathway she and Sedgewhisker were taking got a little more downtrodden, a little rougher. She got a little more relaxed, then realized she had subconsciously shifted into a lower walk, more of a crouch than anything. Like she was still the leader of the Blooders and had to stay low or risk losing her head. Embarrassed, she straightened up and hoped Sedgewhisker hadn't noticed. Not because she cared what he thought. Because she didn't. And then she realized how weird it was for Sedgewhisker to be leading her into the poorer part of Main. Even Gorsefur and Oakclaw hated to be there; growing up in the better parts of camps made them a little more sensitive. "You know where you're going?" she asked, trying to sound like she didn't want to hit him. Honestly, if Gorsefur wasn't one of her best friends she wouldn't have even offered to take this stupid walk with this stupid tom. Sedgewhisker looked back at her and she regarded him clinically. He wasn't bad looking, with shaggy light brown fur and sky-blue eyes. And it's not like he was openly antagonistic, she just hated him. Careful, she thought. You sound like Gorsefur, getting all rational and stuff. You're supposed to be the crazy one, remember? "I know where I'm going," Sedgewhisker promised. He purred, almost nervously. "I grew up here, you know." Shadowsong was so shocked she actually stopped walking, just looking after Sedgewhisker as he leisurely kept padding along. "Here?" she finally asked, finding her voice and loping after him. "You grew up on... this side of the river?" Sedgewhisker looked at her, immediately picking up the wrong idea. "Oh, jeez, sorry. If you don't want to come over here, we don't have to, I just thought..." "I grew up here too," Shadowsong meowed, affronted. She never figured Sedgewhisker had come from this part of camp, he was so honest and...nice? But she was a little insulted that he assumed she would be worried about going there, like some kind of spoiled Main cat who couldn't handle a little grime. Well, more like a lot of grime. But still. "So...this place is around here?" Sedgewhisker nodded, "If that's okay with you?" She shrugged and allowed him to take the lead again, wondering what other little secrets Sedgewhisker was...well, not hiding, but not mentioning. I skid to a halt, throwing dirt onto Oakclaw's fur. He looks up from the squirrel he was inspecting (I think he was measuring it against his tail, but I'm trying very hard to believe that he isn't that vain about his hunting skills). "You need to come back, now." He snaps to attention and I suddenly notice the slump in his shoulders, the exhaustion in his eyes. When was the last time he slept, really relaxed? "Is it Shadowsong? Is she okay?" "Probably," I don't want to get him all worked up if it's nothing. "Look, I just think that Sedgewhisker might know that she's part FireClan. He knows she and Snowflight were sisters and given Snowflight's... infamy..." "Are they arguing or what?" Oakclaw asks, confused. "The kits said they went for a walk together. I don't know where." Oakclaw starts running back towards camp and I try not to fixate on how he stumbles over roots, like picking up his paws is too much effort. "So wait," Shadowsong meowed. "Were you a Blooder or-" Sedgewhisker's whiskers twitched. "You don't have to worry, I'm not going to try to eat you because of gang rivalries. I was actually a Blooder when you were leader, for a little bit. You wouldn't have remembered me." "No, no... what was your name?" Shadowsong asked. "I bet I knew you." Sedgewhisker ducked his head and muttered something. Clearly he was embarrassed. Shadowsong resisted the urge to ask him to speak up, but Gorsefur's voice in his head echoed, telling her to play nice. They were really in the bad part of Main now, not just the rougher roads and the shabbier dens. Shadowsong felt a pang in her heart. The last time she had been here, Snowflight had been alive and in FireClan. Stormflight was alive. Thundercloud hadn't made his final move yet. Shadowsong had thought she was fully WaterClan. And the time she had been home before that... She didn't realized she had faltered and then stopped until Sedgewhisker was in front of her, peering nervously. "You okay?" "I..." her voice came out as a croak and she cleared her throat. "I haven't been here in a while." Sedgewhisker looked sympathetic. "My father died during that green-cough sweep a few winters back. My mom had been drafted, she died a while back and I don't even remember her, but it's hard coming back here and thinking about him." Forgetting that she was supposed to be hating him, Shadowsong just nodded. "So many cats died that winter. They could have been saved if..." If the rest of Main knew how bad it was here. If they cared. Despite the tremor in her voice that betrayed how deeply her feelings went on that issue (rosepawrosepawrosepawno) Sedgewhisker didn't ask. She kept expecting him too, even Oakclaw had badgered her incessantly until she revealed all the gory details. Which weren't that gory. Just sad, mostly. They started walking again, slower now, and she wondered how long until they got to Sedgewhisker's spot. We actually pass Gorsefur on our way back into Main. "Go to the kits!" I shout as we fly by, not stopping to explain or to ask why he looks so uneasy. Oakclaw picks up their scent, but loses it a few times in the hustle and bustle of camp. "Of all the times for Adderscar to leave," he mutters. Adderscar may be our best tracker, but I can't help but think that his leg would slow us down. "Don't worry," I say to Oakclaw as we hurtle through camp. No one looks at us strange, because there's a war on, running around isn't that weird. "I mean, odds are they're just taking a walk or something." Oakclaw mutters something that sounds suspiciously like 'Moonclaw'. Which really sucks because that was my first reaction too. Honestly, Gorsefur and Shadowsong get into so much trouble. Oakclaw and I should get to worry them a bit; fair's fair, right? Gritting my teeth, I speed up. "We getting near to your place?" Shadowsong asked. It was getting harder and harder to pretend to like Sedgewhisker when they'd been walking for ages. "Look around," Sedgewhisker said softly. "Wha-" "Just look," Sedgewhisker rolled his eyes and Shadowsong rolled hers back. But she did as he asked, peering around. They were on Blooder turf, which was probably a good idea, safety-wise. The place was even more run-down than she remembered, but time would do that to you if you weren't careful. The cats were mostly unfamiliar, but she thought she recognized a few. Not surprising, most of the cats she once knew were probably either drafted or dead. Maybe both. "I don't know what you want me to see," she said flatly. "Why do you think all these cats are stuck here?" Sedgewhisker asked. Before she could reply, he went on, "Back...before Clans used to feed everyone, make sure everyone was taken care of." "That was before the Clans got so big," Shadowsong said. She wasn't sure why she was defending the system that had taken everything from her, but she knew she wasn't going to agree with Sedgewhisker if she could help it. His whiskers twitched, like he knew that. "But why is it certain cats who just can't get into the Academy, who can't make it out of here?" "Because we're addicts and criminals and ghosts," Shadowsong snapped, suddenly not in the mood to play games. She spun, intending to head back the way they came and forget she had ever once had a kithood. Sedgewhisker was in front of her and she blinked. He's fast. "I know," he said quietly. She looked at him and he rushed on. "The kits said something about Snowflight and I remembered you saying you weren't just mourning Stormflight and I figured it out-" She pinned him to the ground, cutting off his air before he finished. Not quick enough though, not quick enough to cut him off before he said, "I know you're FireClan." Lionwing grinned at her from the depths of her memories and Snowflight was jumping and Shadowsong was fire and sparks and she wanted so badly to sink into the river and forget. None of the cats were looking at him, they probably wouldn't do anything unless Shadowsong actually killed Sedgewhisker. And even then, it was unlikely there would be any ramifications from the cats in these parts. Sedgewhisker didn't fight, didn't even fidget. He just let her press her weight into his neck and rasped, "Look at them." Though she was loathe to turn her back to a potential enemy, Shadowsong glanced up, easing off on Sedgewhisker a little. He coughed, but didn't try to slide out from under her. It was like he was trying to be polite, even though she'd just choked him. The cats... She had no idea what Sedgewhisker expected her to see, but she tried to see it anyways. She had promised Gorsefur she would make an effort. There was nothing particular about the cats in the poorer parts of Main. Some of them were cripples from the war, many had scars from gang fights. But they were just cats. And she couldn't place a paw on it at first, but something did jump out at her. She hopped off of Sedgewhisker and he sat up, watching her as she spun in a circle, analyzing all the cats. They looked like normal WaterClan cats, just dirty and scarred. But there were more amber eyes, more splashes of ginger or gold fur, sharper features and shorter fur. You could never tell a cat's Clan, their history just by looking at their fur, their eyes, their features. But it was a pretty good indicator. "They're part FireClan," she whispered. Her eyes swiveled to Sedgewhisker. "Some of them are part FireClan. Like me." "Like us," he corrected. Shadowsong could hardly breathe, let alone answer him as she looked out at the waves of cats, cats who were like her, whether they knew it or not. Cats who may be being punished for it. Though running is one of my favorite things, one of the things I'm the best at, I'm out of breath by the time Oakclaw gives a ragged yowl. I slow as Shadowsong and Sedgewhisker come into view. He has to be even more tired than me, but Oakclaw trots over to Sedgewhisker and weakly shoves him. At full strength, that should have sent the brown tom reeling. But now, Sedgewhisker just looks at Oakclaw questioningly. "Are you okay?" I ask Shadowsong. And then I realize that, though nothing seems wrong, something is different. "No," she answers. Her eyes are brighter, she seems to have regained some of her fight. "But I think I'm getting better." Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics